Dorsia

The boys behind Dorsia clothing seem to personify exactly the articulate, ironic, and stylish individuals that their t-shirts are meant for. Not only are they gracious and nice (not even blinking an eye when I arrived 45 minutes late after getting lost on the subway like a true tourist) but throughout the night, they displayed their intelligence, passion for history, and social consciousness that make up the essence of the brand. Hailing from Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow, Henry Ellis, Ethan Berger, and Jason Krigsfeld, bring an eclectic variety of backgrounds to their ideas at the company. All are students at Wesleyan University, where they came together after admiring each other’s senses of style. From there, it seemed only logical to create some sort of fashion endeavor together, and so, Dorsia was born. Named after the elite restaurant in “American Psycho” that main character Patrick Bateman can never enter, Dorsia provides a bit of attainable exclusivity to their consumers. Full of sly cultural references and hip inside jokes, the brand targets the clever, thinking oriented individual.

The t-shirts incorporate art, pop culture references, and images from the past to create interesting statement pieces. Dorsia began as a way to combat some of the boring one-dimensional themes that have taken over t-shirts. “I would say our shirts take from the hip-hop aesthetic, giving it an eclectic and intellectual feel,” says Ethan Berger. The background and hobbies of each designer come through in the wide variety of ideas covered by the brand. The “If It Ain’t Baroque Don’t Fix It” shirt is clearly a reference to Jason’s Moscow upbringing. Henry’s passion for architecture and design comes through in the “Frank Llyod Wright” and “Manhattan” bridge tees. And Ethan’s liking for history is shown in the “Pierre (Peter) L’enfant” shirt, which shows an upside-down map of the urban planner’s original design for the city of modern-day Washington D.C. A huge respect for things from the past is apparent, best put by Jason, “While it’s very important to try new things and be current…we aren’t afraid to take old images, ideals, references to the past, and past cultural standards because that is just as relevant to modern day culture as more modern things.”

The ideal Dorsia customer is someone who enjoys life and is aware of what is going on in the world. While the shirts may seem more geared towards men, the group insists that they are uni-sex. “When a t-shirt does look good on a girl, it’s not fitted. Like when she’s wearing her boyfriend’s shirt, and has just rolled out of bed,” says Henry. In fact, in their photos, the shirts do look equally smart on girls and boys, creating that laid back style of not trying too hard, but still caring about what you are wearing. There are talks to expand into hoodies, polos and dress shirts, but for now the tees keep them busy enough. It seems likely that with a little more time the boys will be well on their way of achieving their ultimate goal to “conquer the world” or “at least to be a significant part of the world.”